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Reformed Witness Hour Messages - January 2025

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January 2025

January 5

Alpha and Omega
Revelation 1:8

Rev. W. Bruinsma

January 12

By Faith Looking for a City
Hebrews 11:9-10

Rev. W. Bruinsma

January 19

Not Just Hearers, But Doers
James 12:2-25

Rev. W. Bruinsma

January 26

God’s Everlasting Glory
Romans 11:33-36

Rev. W. Bruinsma

W Bruinsma RWH

In January 2025, we will broadcast four Christ-centered messages by Rev. Bruinsma, Lord willing. Be sure to listen to the new year message, Alpha and Omega, which speaks of the hope we have that allows us to carry on in the year to come: Our King, our Lord, is coming! He is directing everything that is taking place in our lives, in the church and in the world. He is the first this year and He is the end of this year; He is Alpha and Omega!
   

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Covenant Reformed News - December 2024

Covenant Reformed News
December 2024 • Volume XX, Issue 8


 

The Call to the Apostolic Office

After considering the nature of the apostolic office in the last issue of the Covenant Reformed News, we now turn to the call to the apostolic office. The call to the apostolate was a direct and wonderful call from Christ Himself. Early in the days of His public ministry, Jesus personally called the twelve apostles (cf. Matt. 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16). As for Paul, the risen Christ appeared to him in a bright light from heaven and commissioned him, as we read in Acts 9, 22 and 26.

But what about Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas Iscariot the traitor (Acts 1:15-20)? Like Joseph, Matthias fulfilled the basic qualification of having spent three years with the Saviour from His baptism by John the Baptist to His ascension into heaven (21-23). Of these two brethren, Matthias was chosen not by an election, whether by the church or by the eleven remaining apostles, but by the sovereign Lord by means of the lot in answer to their prayer (24-26).

The call to the apostolate was through a direct and wonderful call from Christ Himself, since an extraordinary office requires an extraordinary call! For a man to occupy the highest New Testament office that involves the authority and power to preach infallibly and to perform miracles, and includes all the other New Testament church offices and is universal in scope, he needs a direct and wonderful call from the Lord Jesus.

Various chapters of Paul’s second canonical letter to the Corinthians explain many features of his apostolic office that are in perfect accord with its extraordinary nature and call. There we read of Paul’s zealous apostolic piety (4, 6) and abundant apostolic suffering (1, 4, 6, 11) in the service of his Herculean apostolic labours (6, 11) and bearing authenticating apostolic fruit (3, 10).

Paul repeatedly refers to his apostolic office in his scriptural epistles, often in their very first verses. He is not ashamed of the gospel of righteousness by faith alone, even in Rome the imperial capital (1:15-17), and he writes to the church in that great city his most systematic theological epistle, as one who was “called to be an apostle” (1).

Paul curses the Judaizers in the Roman province of Galatia who pervert the good news by teaching justification by faith and works (1:7-9), as one who is “an apostle” and that “not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ” (1).

In II Timothy, even though he is in prison and about to be executed as if he were a vile criminal (4:6), Paul begins with a reference to his apostolic office (1:1), since he knows that his impending death is due to his preaching the apostolic gospel and is part of his apostolic sufferings.

This scriptural teaching regarding the extraordinary nature of apostles and their direct call from Christ exposes all the false apostles of the last 2,000 years. This includes those against whom Paul battled (cf. II Cor. 10-13), as well as the Popes of Rome (deceitful claimants to Peter’s apostolic office), the Mormon apostles, and the many thousands of Pentecostal, Charismatic and neo-Charismatic apostles. Once one understands what a real apostle is, the counterfeits are easy to identify. Rev. Angus Stewart
 

Is the Fourth Commandment Still in Effect?

We return in this article to this request from a reader in Wales: “Many people believe that the moral law of God (summarized in the Ten Commandments) was rendered obsolete along with the Mosaic civil and ceremonial laws. I know this is error. Please address this in the Covenant Reformed News.”

One of the arguments against the Ten Commandments as law for New Testament Christians is that the fourth commandment is never repeated in the New Testament, though all the other commandments are repeated. It is part of their argument that only the precepts of the New Testament, which they identify as the law of Christ, are obligatory on New Testament Christians, and even though many of those precepts are also to be found in the Ten Commandments, the moral law, they are not proof that the Ten Commandments are still in effect. We wish to deal with that argument in this article.

The fourth commandment declares, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:8-11).

As the commandment itself reminds us, the sabbath was not merely instituted with the decalogue at Mount Sinai; it is a creation ordinance. Like marriage, the family (Gen. 1:28) and human government, the sabbath began with creation and not with the Mosaic law. It is not just a temporary Jewish institution or just a precept of the moral law. It is permanent, enduring as long as the creation itself, and belongs to those institutions that will last until Christ returns.

We are to remember the sabbath, not simply because God gave a command about it from Mount Sinai but for this reason: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” At creation, “the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it,” and did so for all time. Jesus meant that when He said, “The sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). Of all the commandments, therefore, the fourth needed repeating less than any other.

Another argument for the all-time validity of the sabbath command is Jesus’ word to the Pharisees when disputing with them about the sabbath: “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (28). The sabbath, He states, belongs to Him as Lord and Creator of all, and not to Moses. This was the reason also why He was able to change the day, while preserving the institution. The sabbath is, most emphatically, “the Lord’s day” in Revelation 1:10. For this reason, Jesus was scrupulous about sabbath observance, through He had no time for the nonsense of the Pharisees. Indeed, God Himself kept the sabbath after creating all things.

That the sabbath command, rooted in the creation of the world itself, has not been made null and void, is also clear from Hebrews 4:8-9: “For if Jesus [i.e., Joshua] had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest [literally, a sabbath or sabbath-keeping] to the people of God.”

Another argument against the permanence of the fourth commandment is that every day ought to be special to the Christian and every day he ought to “labour ... to enter into that rest” (11). We do not deny the truth of this. The Heidelberg Catechism, in its explanation of the fourth commandment, requires, “that all the days of my life I cease from my evil works, and yield myself to the Lord, to work by His Holy Spirit in me; and thus begin in this life the eternal sabbath” (A. 103). That is not an argument against a sabbath commandment, however. God’s ordinance that we live by our work and by the sweat of our face (Gen. 3:19) is not done away by His appointing special days in which work is forbidden.

Nevertheless, the opponents of the Ten Commandments argue that, because the command and creation itself specified the seventh day, and the day of worship in the New Testament is the first day of the week (many do not believe there is any special day of worship in the New Testament), the two cannot be the same. Thus, they say, the very fact that Christians worship on a different day is proof against the abiding validity of the Ten Commandments.

We believe that the change of day is not a change in the institution itself nor a voiding of the institution. It is a change only in the circumstances or details, not the essence of the commandment. When speed limits were reduced across America in 1973 in response to a world-wide oil crisis, the change in maximum speeds was not a change to the principle that there ought to be limits on the speed at which motorists drive.

The “first day of the week” (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:2) is the day for preaching and breaking bread in the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7-12), and for taking collections for needy churches (I Cor. 16:1-2), a day known as “the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10), for it has a special connection to the Person and work of the Lord Himself. This is the day when the church assembles for worship (e.g., I Cor. 11:17, 20; 14:23-26; Heb. 10:25; James 2:2).

But how can we even be sure that the day was changed, since there is no explicit command telling us to worship on the first, rather than on the seventh, day of the week?

The resurrection of Christ (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), and His appearances to the women and His disciples when assembled together (Matt. 28:2-10; Mark 16:2-14; Luke 24:2-49; John 20:2-29), and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-41; cf. Lev. 23:15-16) on the first day of the week, amount to a command. In other words, Jesus commands the observance of the first day of the week not by word but by example. These great works of redemption—Christ’s resurrection (and post-resurrection appearances) and the Spirit’s outpouring—all on the same day, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the first day of the week is special.

The Westminster Larger Catechism declares, “The fourth commandment requireth of all men the sanctifying or keeping holy to God such set times as he hath appointed in his word, expressly one whole day in seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, and so to continue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath [Deut. 5:12-14; Gen. 2:2-3; I Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 20:7; Matt. 5:17-18; Isa. 56:2, 4, 6-7], and in the New Testament called The Lord’s day [Rev. 1:10]” (A. 116).

Sabbath means “rest” and refers to the spiritual rest which Jesus promises in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If that is what Jesus promises, then it is not surprising that Hebrews 4:9 tells us that there remains a rest for the people of God. It should also be obvious that the day of the week is not essential to that rest but subject to change, as it was changed by the great works of redemption that took place on the first day of the week.

We agree with those who say that the change of days reflects the difference between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, the promised rest lay still in the future and it was appropriate that the day of rest come at the end of the week, but now, in the New Testament, the Rest-giver Himself has come and by His saving work caused us to “enter into rest” (Heb. 4:3) through faith. It is appropriate, therefore, that the rest is at the beginning of the week and the remaining days be lived out of that accomplished rest.

All of this has been part of our argument for the permanence of the moral law, summed in the Ten Commandments. To the believing heart, the greatest argument for the permanence of the moral law is the blessedness promised in the Word of God to those who love and keep His commandments. They are those who say with the psalmist, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward” (19:7-11). They experience the truth of Psalm 119:1-2: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”  Rev. Ron Hanko
Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena, BT43 5DR • Lord’s Day services at 11 am & 6 pm
Website: https://cprc.co.uk/ • Live broadcast: cprc.co.uk/live-streaming/
Pastor: Angus Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR • (028) 25 891851  
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • www.youtube.com/cprcni • www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
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Covenant Reformed News - November 2024

Covenant Reformed News
November 2024 • Volume XX, Issue 7


 

What Is the Apostolic Office?

Though the word “apostle” is frequently used in Christian circles, there exists a lot of error and confusion regarding its true import and significance.

Our English word “apostle” is a transliteration of a Greek verb which means “to send.” Thus an apostle is one who is sent by someone else. In a non-technical sense, anyone on any errand for another is an apostle. In its technical and theological sense, an apostle is one sent by the Lord Jesus Christ in the highest ecclesiastical office, such as “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (II Tim. 1:1). As one sent by the Saviour, Paul was authorized, equipped and owned by the Lord, and was obedient to Him.

What about the nature of the authority and power of the apostolic office? It includes the authority and power to preach and teach God’s Word regarding doctrine and life, sacraments and discipline, church government and worship, etc., with all centred on the cross of Christ. This is common to the temporary offices of prophet and evangelist, as well as the permanent office of pastor-teacher (Eph. 4:11). Unlike pastor-teachers but like prophets, apostles taught by direct revelation and infallibly.

Besides preaching and teaching authority and power, apostles also had the God-given authority and power to perform miracles in the service of the gospel of grace, including miraculous healings, exorcisms of demons and miracles of judgment, as with Peter upon Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11), and Paul upon Bar-Jesus or Elymas (13:6-12). In this, apostles are like and greater than prophets (cf. II Cor. 12:12), and unlike mere pastors and teachers.

Three further points about the apostolic office will help us understand it more fully. First, it is an inclusive office, that is, it embraces all the other church offices mentioned in the New Testament. Like prophets, evangelists and pastor-teachers, apostles preach the Scriptures and administer the sacraments. Apostles also possess the authority and power of the offices of elder (I Pet. 5:1) and deacon (II Cor. 8-9).

Second, the office of apostle is the highest New Testament office. Apostles are listed “first” in I Corinthians 12:28 (cf. 29), the position they also occupy in Ephesians 4:11. The order in Ephesians is always “apostles and prophets” (2:20; 3:5; 4:11; cf. Rev. 18:20). The evangelists (Eph. 4:11) were assistants to the apostles, such as Philip (Acts 21:8) and Timothy (II Tim. 4:5). Obviously, the extraordinary office of apostle is higher than the ordinary offices of pastor-teacher, elder and deacon. For instance, the order in Acts 15 is always “apostles and elders” (2, 4, 6, 22, 23; cf. 16:4).

Third, the office of apostle is the universal New Testament office. By this, I mean that the apostles had the authority and power to institute churches, to receive remuneration from all churches (e.g., I Cor. 9) and to oversee all churches. Paul spoke of “that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (II Cor. 11:28), and Peter wrote to all the believers in five Roman provinces, which together constituted what is now most of Turkey. Thus the apostles had an itinerant ministry or were, at least, mobile and not called to a specific congregation or location. Rev. Angus  Stewart
 

What Does “Dead to the Law” Mean?

We continue in this article our answer to this request: “Many people believe that the moral law of God (summarized in the Ten Commandments) was rendered obsolete along with the Mosaic civil and ceremonial laws. I know this is error. Please address this in the Covenant Reformed News.”

Many assume that the Scripture passages, Romans 7:4 and Galatians 2:19, which describe the believer as “dead to the law” mean that the law, especially as embodied in the Ten Commandments, has no place in the life of the New Testament believer. Romans 7:4 says, “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” Galatians 2:19 adds, “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.”

We believe that “dead to the law” does not mean “dead in every respect.” The believer may be dead to the law in some ways but not in others. Perhaps this sounds like playing with words to some but it is biblical.

When the Bible speaks of being “dead to sin” (Rom. 6:2; cf. 11), it means that we are dead in some ways and not in others. We are dead, Scripture means, to the dominion or rule of sin: “For sin shall not have dominion over you” (14; cf. 12). We are not yet dead to the presence and pollution of sin in our lives, as everyone of us knows from bitter experience. We are dead to sin in one respect but not in another.

We understand the believer’s being dead to the law along the same lines. He is dead to the dominion of the law, to its power to curse and condemn him (Gal. 3:13), but his relationship to the law is not finished, only changed, changed fundamentally and for his good. He is also dead to the law as a way of earning righteousness, for he is righteous in Christ by faith, but that does not mean that the law has no role in his life.

Galatians 2:19 says that this being dead to the law is through the law. What a wonderful and concise statement of our relation to the law. By the law’s convicting us of sin (even that does not happen without the work of the Spirit), we die to the law’s condemnation, its curse, its insistence that we must keep it in order to live. Thus the law drives us to Christ for forgiveness and (imputed) righteousness. Only then do we live unto God.

This is what the Word of God says in Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” The fact that we are justified by faith without the works of the law does not mean that the law is abolished. Instead, the law is established as the way in which we know our sin and so are convinced that our righteousness must come from Christ alone: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (20).

The Scripture verses which say that the believer is not under the law (Rom. 6:14-15; Gal. 5:18) must be understood along the same lines as we noted in the previous article. Galatians 3:23-4:7 uses the example of a child in relation to the law of his parents. Until he reaches maturity, he is no better than a slave being under tutors and governors though he is heir of all (4:1-3). When he reaches maturity, then he is freed from that “bondage” and enters the freedom which was always his but which he did not fully enjoy in his youth (cf. 4-7).

So it is with the believer in relation to the law. Until he reaches his place in Christ and in Christ receives the fullness of the adoption of sons, the law is a schoolmaster to bring him to Christ (3:24). Though in the purpose of God he is the heir of all things, he is under the law, until the tutorship and governorship of the law serves to bring him to Christ. Then his relationship to the law changes fundamentally, and the law, which appeared to be his master, becomes his servant, advising him in understanding his sin and in the way of thankful obedience to God.

The very fact that Paul describes the law as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ implies that the law is not absent in the life of a child of God. Even before he is saved, it has its function, though his relationship to the law is changed when, by God’s wonderful grace, he is brought into living fellowship with Christ. The law, however, continues to have a role even after we are saved, though it does so not as something that has rule over us but as a trusted adviser. So it is with tutors and governors and schoolmasters. Once we are no longer under their authority, they can and often do become trusted advisers and counsellors.

Galatians 2:19, one of the passages that speaks of being “dead to the law,” actually says that the law still has a place in the life of the child of God: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” It is the law itself which bring about my being dead to the law. This is sometimes described as the first use of the law, that “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20).

This is to say, of course, that there is one thing the law cannot do. It cannot justify us before God: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (8:3-4). Even then the problem was not some deficiency or defect in the law. The problem was in us. The law was “weak through the flesh,” that is, on account of our sinful natures.

There are other things the law cannot do. It shows us our sin but it cannot keep us from sinning. It teaches us how to show our thankfulness to God but it cannot make us thankful. It reveals our need for Christ but we will not embrace Him except the Spirit also works in our hearts. It shows us who God is and what it means to live righteously, that is, in harmony with His glory and majesty, but it cannot write itself in our hearts and give us what we need to live righteously. It is only at best a servant of the redeemed and delivered Christian, and a servant with limited responsibilities and duties.

Romans 7 also establishes the place of the law in the life of the child of God, that is, if one understands, as we do, the man of Romans 7 to be the regenerated and renewed child of God. Paul, speaking as a one redeemed and renewed, says, “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (7-12).

Paul’s statements about the law may not be brushed aside. The law is not sin; it is not evil. Paul himself admits that he did not know sin except by the law. The law is holy and just and good, he says, a very different opinion of the law than that of those who reject the law altogether. He says again at the end of the chapter, “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (22). It is impossible to understand this reference to the inward man, as speaking of something other than the new man in Christ, the regenerated and renewed child of God.

Our Heidelberg Catechism states the two main purposes of the law for Christians: “First, that all our lifetime we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and thus become the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin and righteousness in Christ; likewise, that we constantly endeavour, and pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may become more and more conformable to the image of God, till we arrive at the perfection proposed to us in a life to come” (A. 115).

Personally, I find it difficult to understand the opposition of some to the law. Read, studied, learned, it reminds me of the folly of sin when I am inclined to be careless. It reminds me of what God has done for me in Christ, who kept the law perfectly to provide a robe of righteousness for me, and to be a perfect atoning substitute for my disobedience and waywardness. The law also shows me how to express my gratitude to Him who delivered me from the Egypt of this world and the house of sin’s bondage.

But when I see my sin, and my need for correction and holiness, I do not turn to the law but to Christ. When I see in the law how thankful I ought to be, I find that I cannot even be thankful apart from the grace and Spirit of my Saviour. Though it serves to remind me of Christ’s perfect obedience, I find the only source of obedience in Him and not in the law. Rev. Ron Hanko
Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena, BT43 5DR • Lord’s Day services at 11 am & 6 pm
Website: https://cprc.co.uk/ • Live broadcast: cprc.co.uk/live-streaming/
Pastor: Angus Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR • (028) 25 891851  
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • www.youtube.com/cprcni • www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
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Covenant Reformed News - October 2024

Covenant Reformed News
October 2024 • Volume XX, Issue 6


 

Opposition From Jehovah’s Enemies

Any and all true works of God always face opposition from His enemies. In Nehemiah 2, there is a reference to evil forces even before Nehemiah reached Jerusalem. On his journey from the east, Governor Nehemiah was granted a military escort for his own protection, plus letters of safe conduct (9).

However, the most serious enmity spoken of in Nehemiah 2:9-10 came not from bandits (9) but from two nasty individuals (10): Sanballat, the governor of Samaria (to the north of Judah), and Tobiah, his official from Ammon (to the east of Judah). Both of these ungodly civil rulers are mentioned as troublemakers throughout this book, especially in chapters 2, 4, 6 and 13.

At this stage, their hatred had not yet manifested itself in actions or even words. The animosity of Sanballat and Tobiah was experienced by them as internal pain, intense distress that anyone would want to help God’s church: “it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel” (2:10). These two extremely wicked men were hardened and self-conscious enemies of Jehovah’s covenant people. They understood that Nehemiah, the new governor of Judah, would assist the Jews but, as yet, they did not know that he planned to build Jerusalem’s perimeter wall.

Once word got out that the Jews under Nehemiah were going to rebuild the wall of their capital city, we read of three powerful enemies, for Geshem the Arabian is now added to the two opponents mentioned earlier (19). Thus Judah has adversaries from three sides: Sanballat in the north, Tobiah from the east and Geshem from the south.

The hostility against God’s church and covenant intensified. Before Nehemiah’s arrival in Jerusalem, Sanballat and Tobiah were “exceedingly” “grieved” (10), but, after they heard of the Jews’ building project, the three enemies “despised” them (19). Thus we read of their mockery of God’s people: “they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?” namely, Emperor Artaxerxes of Medo-Persia (19).

In every age and land, the true church of the Lord Jesus has enemies on every side. She is despised and derided, as was Christ Himself, especially as He hung upon the cross, where He paid the price of our redemption.

What was Nehemiah’s response to their taunts? It took the form of confident words uttered out of a strong faith in the living Lord: “The God of heaven, he will prosper us” (20). Thus Nehemiah stated his resolute purpose to construct the walls of Jerusalem: “therefore we his servants will arise and build” (20)!

Nehemiah’s rejoinder to his three powerful enemies was also sharply antithetical, for the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls was none of their business. Judah’s governor told them, “ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem” (20), since they had no legal or religious authority, portion or inheritance in the city of God! O that all church leaders would take such a no-nonsense, firm and unequivocal line against all syncretism with paganism and false ecumenism in our own day! Rev. A. Stewart
 

Is God’s Moral Law Permanent?

We have in this issue of the News another request for an article about the law: “Many people believe that the moral law of God (summarized in the Ten Commandments) was rendered obsolete along with the Mosaic civil and ceremonial laws. I know this is error. Please address this in the Covenant Reformed News.”

Many reckon that the Ten Commandments, sometimes referred to as the moral law, are not in effect in the New Testament era and so they do not think they are obligatory in their requirements. This opposition to the Ten Commandments usually rests on the belief that Israel and the church are two different groups with whom God has two different covenants with each covenant having a different sign (circumcision or baptism). These two groups may even have entirely different futures, as is the teaching of premillennialism and dispensationalism. The Ten Commandments, in this view, belong to Israel and the covenant that God made with them.

Matthew 5:17, where Jesus speaks of His fulfilling the law, is often used as proof for this rejection of the Ten Commandments. That, however, is a misunderstanding of the passage. Jesus does not mean that He has done away with the law or He would be contradicting Himself, for He immediately talks about the importance of doing and teaching, and not breaking, the precepts of the law, and goes on to explain and apply several of the commandments.

Romans 10:4, which says that Christ is the “end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,” is also misused. “End,” in the minds of many, means that the moral law is finished and done away with, but that is not the meaning of the Greek word translated “end” in Romans 10:4. There are other Greek words for “end” that mean that something is finished, with nothing to follow (Matt. 24:31; 28:1; Heb. 6:16; II Pet. 2:20). The word used in Romans 10:4 and many other passages has the meaning of goal or purpose. Christ is the goal of the law. The word “end” in Romans 10:4 does not imply that the Ten Commandments are finished and done away with.

Another argument against the Ten Commandments is found by some in Romans 6:14: “for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” It is wrongly assumed that, because we are not under the law, we have no relationship to the law at all. But that is wrong. The fact that I am not “under” my wife does not mean I have no relationship at all to her. The fact of the matter is that, just as I am over my wife, so also I am over the law. The law, in God’s gracious saving will towards me, is now my servant, as a “schoolmaster to bring [me] unto Christ” (Gal. 3:24).

When asked whether this means that Christians have no law that must be obeyed, the answer is often that Christians obey “the law of Christ” (a phrase only found in Galatians 6:2), that is, the commands and precepts found in the New Testament, which may or may not be the same as the precepts of the Ten Commandments. This is classic Antinomianism, that is, a rejection of God’s law as embodied in the Ten Commandments.

That argument is nullified by Galatians 3:19: “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” The Ten Commandments, from the time that God gave them at Sinai, were “the law of Christ,” our mediator, and were in His “hand.” To make a distinction between the Ten Commandments and another law of Christ is explicitly contrary to Scripture. To this Paul adds the important truth that the law is not “against the promises of God” (21), as those allege who find a dichotomy between His moral law and grace.

That the Ten Commandments are still in force follows from two arguments. First, the law as embodied in the Ten Commandments is called the law of God, and to say that it is different from the law of Christ comes very close to a denial of Christ’s divinity. Also the Ten Commandments are rooted in the very nature of God and it seems very difficult, therefore, to understand how they could go out of force.

A good example is the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). This command follows from the great truth that He is God alone and that there are no other gods beside Him. The other commandments are similar. The second flows from the truth that God is spirit (John 4:24), and the third from the truth that His name is holy and separate from all other names. The fourth rests upon the truth that He is the eternal Creator who made time, as well as space, and who worked six days and rested on the seventh. The fifth is based upon His sovereign authority, and so on.

If the commandments are not arbitrary rules but follow from the nature of God Himself, they must be still in force and we believe they are. We agree with Westminster Confession 19:5: “The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God, the Creator, who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation” (Rom. 13:8-10; Eph. 6:2; I John 2:3-4, 7-8; James 2:8, 10-11; Matt. 5:17-19; Rom. 3:31).

Those who do not believe that the Ten Commandments are in force for New Testament Christians will admit that almost all of the commandments are repeated in the New Testament. This we see as further evidence that the moral law is abiding. In Matthew 5:21-42, commandments 6, 7 and 3 are explained by Jesus, and He validates the whole second table of the law, commandments 5-10, in verses 43-48. He repeats commandments 5-9 in Matthew 19:18-19. What is more, these examples in Matthew 5 help us to identify the “law” that Jesus is talking about when He says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (17).

Commandments 7 and 6 are repeated in James 2:11, and James also refers to the rest of the second table when he speaks of loving our neighbour as ourselves (8). Commandment 10, “Thou shalt not covet,” is repeated in Romans 7:7 and Paul establishes the validity of the second table in Romans 13:8-9, where commandments 6-10 are repeated and reference is made to “any other commandment.”

The requirements of the first table are also permanent, according to the teaching of the New Testament. If “love thy neighbour as thyself” is a summary of the second table of the law and “love the Lord thy God” is a summary of the first table, then the New Testament clearly enjoins both. All idolatry and false worship (the first and second commandments) and blasphemy (the third commandment) are clearly forbidden in the New Testament (John 4:24; Gal. 5:20; Col. 3:8; I Tim. 6:1; I John 5:19-21). That leaves only the fourth commandment which is not explicitly repeated but, as we will see in another article, DV, that commandment is also still in force.

I and II John, in their repeated references to the importance of keeping the divine precepts, speak of the commandments of God and make no distinction between these and a “law of Christ” (I John 2:3-4; 3:22, 24; 5:2-3; II John 1:6). Revelation also speaks of the commandments of God and makes no mention of any law of Christ which is different (12:17; 14:12; 22:14). It is difficult to see how this can be anything else but a reference to God’s moral law.

For Paul, the “law” and the “commandment” are “holy, and just, and good” (Rom. 7:12; cf. 13:9), and he confesses that he “delight[s] in the law of God after the inward man” (7:22), which can mean nothing else but that he, regenerated and renewed by grace, a new man in Christ, finds that the law is not something to be despised but cherished.

That the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God in tables of stone also indicates the permanence of these regulations. That they were spoken by God Himself from Mount Sinai and the stone tables were placed in the ark confirms this, for it shows the difference between these commandments and all the rest of the Mosaic legislation.

John Calvin is right in his comments on Romans 7:12: “I consider that there is a peculiar force in the words, when he says, that the law itself and whatever is commanded in the law, is holy, and therefore to be regarded with the highest reverence—that it is just, and cannot therefore be charged with anything wrong—that it is good, and hence pure and free from everything that can do harm. He thus defends the law against every charge of blame, that no one should ascribe to it what is contrary to goodness, justice, and holiness.”

This leaves us with several matters that still need explanation. We need to look at what it means that we are “dead to the law” (Rom. 7:4; Gal. 2:19). We also must examine the reasons why the fourth commandment, regarding the sabbath, is not explicitly repeated in the New Testament. Rev. Ron Hanko
Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena, BT43 5DR • Lord’s Day services at 11 am & 6 pm
Website: https://cprc.co.uk/ • Live broadcast: cprc.co.uk/live-streaming/
Pastor: Angus Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR • (028) 25 891851  
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • www.youtube.com/cprcni • www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
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Reformed Witness Hour - December 2024 Newsletter

RWH Logo 2019

News from the Reformed Witness Hour

December 2024

 CHaak GT PRC

December 2024 Broadcast Schedule

Lord willing, for the month of December, Rev. Haak will lead us as we consider the treasure and the wonder of the birth of Jesus Christ in his series, The Blessings of Emmanuel’s Reign. Isaiah 35 speaks to us in a picturesque way of the blessings that will be brought when Immanuel comes. “The desert,” we read, “shall blossom as the rose…the eyes of the blind shall be opened…the parched ground shall become a pool of water…the redeemed of the Lord shall go upon a highway of holiness.” The point of the chapter is that when God pours out upon us sinners His goodness and grace in the coming of His Son Immanuel, great blessings come upon His precious church. Tune in to hear these beautiful messages!

December 1
The Desert Shall Bloom as the Rose
Isaiah 35:1-2

Rev. C. Haak

December 8
Then Shall a Lame Man Leap as a Hart

Isaiah 35:3-6

Rev. C. Haak

December 15
The Mirage is Become a Pool of Water

Isaiah 35:6-7

Rev. C. Haak

December 22
Great Joy Brought to You
Luke 2:10-11

Rev. C. Haak

December 29
Highway Through the Desert

Isaiah 35:8-10

Rev. C. Haak

December 29
Highway Through the Desert

Isaiah 35:8-10

Rev. C. Haak

RWH Website

If you haven’t visited our website recently, take a few minutes to check it out. We have an extensive broadcast archive which includes transcript versions of many messages, highlights of favorite messages, details on the stations that broadcast our messages and more. Visit at reformedwitnesshour.org.

Who is Downloading RWH Messages?

October was another interesting month for download data from Sermon Audio. You may recall back in April we saw a significantly larger number of downloads, mostly attributed to Cambodia. In October we had another significant increase in downloads, this time, it appears to be attributed to the state of Washington which had 2,723 downloads for the month. Additionally, the state of Texas had a significantly higher number of downloads compared to previous months with 413 downloads. These two states surpassed all other states for highest number of downloads in one month.

   Top 5 states reached each month   

 

May

   (top 5)   

June

   (top 5)   

July

   (top 5)   

August

   (top 5)   

September  

   (top 5)

   October  

   (top 5)   

Washington

10

9

14

26

37

2,723 (1)

Texas

44 (5)

22

19

39

45

413 (2)

Ohio

217 (1)

8

5

9

151 (2)

124

Michigan

133 (2)

107 (3)

114 (3)

102 (3)

201 (1)

149 (4)

Wisconsin

12

11

181 (1)

30

23

20

Virginia

36

133 (1)

25

120 (2)

33

166 (3)

So. Carolina

2

13

4

2

21

146 (5)

Illinois

39

66 (4)

144 (2)

54 (4)

95

76

California

28

24

20

25

141 (3)

37

N. Carolina

71 (4)

39

96 (5)

120 (1)

136 (4)

36

Iowa

28

127 (2)

41

21

31

27

Oregon

13

7

97 (4)

9

117 (5)

9

Colorado

74 (3)

55

18

44 (5)

34

18

Georgia

31

58 (5)

66

8

16

17

downloads by month Dec 2024

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Dallas-Fort Worth PRC Fellowship

DFW PRC Fellowship 2024 LogoDallas-Fort Worth PRC Fellowship

 

We are overjoyed that the Lord has opened the door for us to begin meeting with brothers and sisters in Christ living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area!

If you would like to be a part of the very beginnings of this Reformed group of Christians, we will be privileged to have you join us. Whether you are familiar with the Reformed faith, wonder what “Reformed” means, or are just beginning to look to Scripture for truth, join us to magnify our Lord Jesus Christ and build one another up in the Christian faith.

Food and fellowship afterwards.

 

Who are we?

  • Sinners saved by God’s irresistible grace, believing the glorious gospel of our Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ as set forth in God's infallible Word, the Bible
  • Believers holding to the historic Christian faith in line with the great Protestant Reformation of the 16th century
  • Brothers and sisters gathering for worship, Bible studies, and fellowship, while witnessing to others in the DFW region

Lanings dfw hats

Services and studies led by Pastor Jim Laning, minister/preacher in the Protestant Reformed Churches in America. You may reach him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Time and Place of our worship services

When: Sundays at 5:00 pm

Where: Landry at Cross Creek Clubhouse
6301 Old Denton Rd., Fort Worth, TX 76131

Thursday Bible Study and Fellowship at 7:00 pm.

dfw Biblestudygroup

We periodically will be sending out articles, podcasts, and pamphlets on Christian doctrines, contemporary issues, and practical matters. If you would like to receive these, just send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will gladly add you to our email list.

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